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Stuffed Shells with Kale and Sage Sausage in a Butternut Squash Sauce

Stuffed Shells with Kale, Sausage in a Butternut Squash Sauce

The Shells pre-oven. They could easily be made vegetarian by leaving out the sausage.

Lately my goal has been to up the health and nutritional value of the food I make. Stuffed shells sounded like a good way to use some of the kale and chard in the garden, and to put a little bit more of an autumnal twist on the dish, I made a sauce with butternut squash instead of the usual tomato sauce.

We used Kale and Swiss Chard in the salad as well as cherry tomatoes all from the garden.

This was made for a Monday night dinner, though there are several steps to making it. If I was really taking my time, I would have made the sauce better by roasting some tomatoes with the butternut squash and added them along with some cream to the blender. Oh, and roasted garlic. Yummy, roasted garlic, tomato and butternut squash sauce with cream… that will be in a post for another dish. Soup anyone? (read more)

4 Fall Ideas to Bring the Season Indoors

The mini white ghost pumpkins I grew this year did quite well and look great gathered in a fall themed bowl.

With the transition of summer to fall, it’s the time of year I love to savor since it is so fleeting and so beautiful. I wanted to share some of the things I enjoy to bring fall into Fox Cottage. When I think of fall, it brings to mind certain scents, colors, textures and just an over all cozy feeling as the air starts to turn to that cooler, crisp weather. My go to fall fixes are:

Decorating with nature. Think pumpkins, gourds, flowers, twigs and leaves.
Candle light. Bringing in a nice warm glow.
Scent. Fall scents with candles, cooking and a fall simmer pot of natural fruits and spices that I will share with yo.u
Food. I love to switch the summer menu to fall with warming soups and stews, roasted veggies and other comfort food.
Sound. Music that helps reflect a fall state of mind are always playing in our house. Here is a link to our Spotify Autumn playlist.

Fall Floral Arrangement. Bohemian Cottage

Using nature and items found in the garden to decorate can make a big seasonal impact without spending anything.

Nature.

When planning our garden in the early spring, I always plan the garden around what I will be using the plants for. Some are of course edible and culinary while others are for pure enjoyment. I usually think ahead to fall at that time to plan for what crops we will be wanting like pumpkins and winter squashes, mums and marigolds to be used in fall displays. (read more)

Fall Tablescape Inspiration

Fall is slowly creeping up on us here in the Rocky Mountains. The air is crisp in the evenings and mornings, the first touches of changing leaves are showing on the trees and the pumpkins are getting big in the garden. We recently cleaned the back yard up really well and set a nice fall table for Sunday taco night. I made baked tilapia for fish tacos and had a bunch of different toppings cut up and ready. I also had the Shiner Bock Rubyred Summer ale to drink. It was really good!

To help get your fall table set, I curated some ideas from around the web, and also wanted to share our first of many fall table settings with you. (read more)

Soba Noodle Salad with Sriracha Baked Tofu

This Soba Noodle Salad is a perfect summer side with grilled chicken or as a main dish on its own.

On a quest for healthy meals for the family, I came across a recipe for a soba noodle soup. Heavy on the ginger, with the addition of spicy sriracha baked tofu, it became the favorite dish I make for Coda. When summer came along, I wanted to be able to serve the same flavors but without the warm broth, and that is where this salad was born. It is very versatile, you can add whatever seasonal veggies are available. In this particular version I was able to add the snow peas and golden zucchini that I grew in the garden this summer. (read more)

Naming Our Bohemian Garden

This butterfly on our daylilies was the first thing I saw upon coming home one evening

Something I have recently came upon as a concept for us gardeners to consider is naming your garden or home. Historically the large estates and manors of the wealthy have always had names such as Midford Castle (actor Nicolas Cage’s house), Buckingham Palace or Gipsy House the name of writer Roald Dahl’s home. I thought it would be fun to name our garden. We initially named our cottage Fox Cottage when we moved in.We pulled up into the driveway one evening and a fox was waiting in our yard. He looked at us for a long pause before he ran off. The image of that stuck as the name of our new home. In some Native American beliefs, the foliage provides Fox with the camouflage for protection. I like to think of our garden as protector. Some of the reasons that you might want to name your garden or home or both is that it brings more awareness to your space. It infuses the space with personality and character. Naming the garden space is also a good idea to help when designing the garden, to help invoke an image and create meaning, and helps to establish your theme to build upon as you design. There are even websites dedicated to assisting with the house naming process. Do you think it is to hoity toity to name your garden? As you may have guessed, I think it is fun and for all the reasons stated above, a good idea. (read more)

Little Sprouts Community Garden

We enjoyed a lady bug release party at the Little Sprouts Community Garden

A couple of weeks ago the kids and I participated in a ladybug release party at the Little Sprouts Community Garden. We released hundreds of ladybugs, learned about bugs both beneficial and pests, did some crafts, had fun with a butterfly net and bug habitat and ate some tasty snacks!

We made Butterfly crafts

We made the cutest tie dyed butterfly craft while there. They are a simple craft for all ages. I will put up the instructions in a different post so you can make one too!

Makayla making her butterfly craft

We released hundreds of ladybugs to help the garden defend against pests. We even got a bug habitat to take some home to release in our own garden. (read more)